Lessons about fire safety

SWANSEA — Students from 21 classrooms were instructed on fire safety by a pair of Swansea firefighters who have been certified in the Students Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) program.

Bill Hall

SWANSEA — Students from 21 classrooms were instructed on fire safety by a pair of Swansea firefighters who have been certified in the Students Awareness of Fire Education (SAFE) program.

Rick Rego, who is the public life safety education director representing the Swansea Fire Department, along with firefighter Jordan Amorin, taught the seven first grades, seven third grades and seven fifth grades at the four elementary schools in town. Last Thursday, while Firefighter Amorin was at the Luther School, Firefighter Rego was completing the five-week course with fifth graders at the Brown School.

The town's Fire Department received a grant of $4,686 to teach students under SAFE and another $3,018 for the SAFE program or senior citizens that will take place at the Council on Aging in July as well as Martin Court.

"We have had grants under the SAFE program for the past 19 years," said firefighter Rego. "The grant is very specific as to its use."

Firefighters Rego and Amorin taught classes once a week for 45 minutes each over a five- week period. The topics included fire science, products that produce combustion, smoke detectors (that last 10 years with the battery changed every six months), carbon monoxide detector, (changed every seven years), escape plans, burns, fire hazards and other aspects.

"We can reach the students in school and the seniors, it is the group between 18 and 50 yeas old that we do not have a program for," said Firefighter Rego. "We urge the students to go home and talk to the parents about fire safety."

The final class had to do with types of combustible materials that are in the home as well as the types of items that produce fire.

He noted that materials such as fabric, paper products and others should be kept at least three feet from a heat source.

He emphasized that flammable liquids such as gasoline should be stored in proper containers. The firefighter emphasized that gasoline, which can be corrosive, should not be put in a plastic milk container. He told the students that care should be taken in the storage of gasoline, even when it is in a proper gasoline container that has thicker plastic.

Firefighter Rego pointed out that electricity is a leading cause of fire and that the careless disposal of smoking materials is the leading cause of deaths due to fire. He gave an example of a power strip that is rated for over 1,800 watts. He pointed out that he has seen instances where people have attached one power strip after another with the lead strip connected to a single outlet. He added that air conditioners and refrigerators as well as other large electrical consumers should be in their own outlet.

The firefighter noted that the cords should only be pulled out of the wall at their base rather than pulling on the cord. He pointed out that excessive pulling on the cord could lead to the exposure of the wires. Firefighter Rego added that frayed cords should be disposed of.

Earlier in the school year, the Fire Department conducted a fire drill for each of the six schools in town. Students and staff were timed as to how long it took them to completely evacuate their building.

The Brown School came out ahead with every student having left to building in one minute and 21 seconds followed by Hoyle School in 1:25, Luther School in 1:35 and Gardner School in 1:45. The Case Junior High School was evacuated in 2:22 and the Case High School in 2:28, very good times considering the high school has twice the number of students as any of the elementary grades and the junior high close to double the number.

"There are some factors involved, whether the classes are on one floor, number of exits, but the times were very good," said firefighter Rego. "Sometimes, we intentionally block off an escape route to simulate a fire at an exit and the kids know right where to go with a secondary escape path. The key is that they practice with fire drills and the exits are all marked." "We tell the students to be aware of the exits wherever they go," he added. "When you see the Station Fire video, you see so many people leaving the way they came in when there were other exits."

Firefighter Rego thanked the three school health teachers Gloria Lagasse, Justin Medeiros and Monica Medas for their assistance, as